13th. - 15th. March 1997
In the Chair: Prof. Peter Ryder , Germany, President of IGC.
Introduction
1. Minutes of last meeting
2. European meetings
3. Working groups see Rules
4. Election of new secretary
5. FAI matters
6. IGC Budget
7. IGC representative on FAI environment committe
8. Subcommittees
-- 8.1 Rules
-- 8.2 Motor gliders
-- 8.3 Club Class
-- 8.4 Air space and regulatory
-- 8.5 GNSS
-- 8.6 World records
-- 8.7 Organisation of championships
-- 8.8 Competition philosophies
9. World gliding championships
-- 9.1 WGC 1997
-- 9.2 WGC 1999
-- 9.3 WGC 2001
9a First World Masters Event
10. European championships
-- 10.1 EGC 1996
-- 10.2 EGC Club Class 1996
-- 10.3 Junior EGC 1997
-- 10.4 Women's EGC 1997
-- 10.5 EGC 1998
-- 10.6 EGC Club Class 1998
-- 10.7 EGC motor gliding
-- 10.8 EGC 2000
-- 10.9 Further EGCs
11. World Air Games
12. World Class
-- 12.1 Production
-- 12.2 First World Championships
13. Membership decline
14. OSTIV
15. European Gliding Union
16. Awards
17. Barron Hilton Cup
18. Elections
19. Date and place of next meeting
20. Any other business
List of Annexes
On Wednesday, 12th. March 1997, representatives of the 1st. World Air Games Organisation, the World Class Glider Committee, PZL Swidnik ( Polish manufacturers of PW5 ) and the Warsaw Technical University met for discussions at the Club Prince Albert, ahead of the main meetings of IGC. A summary of Mr. Fred Weinholtz's report on the preparations for the 1st. World Air Games will appear later in the Minutes, adjacent to Items 10 and 11.
A Bureau Meeting was held on Thursday 13th. March from 0900 - 1300 hrs.
The afternoon of 13th. March was originally dedicated to two Working Groups, Sporting Code and World Records, but the amount of work to be covered on Rules was considered so important, that it was decided to devote the entire session to Sporting Code and postpone World Record topics to the following day. The results appear in the corresponding topics of these Minutes.
On 14th. March 1997, at 0904 hrs, the Chairman, IGC President Prof.
Peter Ryder, Germany, opened the plenary meeting. Prior to the roll call,
the meeting was invited to wish "Happy Birthday" to first Vice
- President Mr Tor Johannessen, Norway.
The roll call showed 28 nations represented by delegates, alternates and
observers as well as Mr. Max Bishop, FAI Secretary General, Mr. Srecko
Medven, WAG Air Sports Coordinator and Prof. Piero Morelli, Chairman World
Class and Motor Gliders subcommittee.
Before starting the official business, the meeting stood in silence in
tribute to departed colleagues.
The President then made the following remarks concerning the agenda:
1. The motion of the German Aero Club concerning the 18m class had not been included as a separate item on the agenda. However, the written proposal had been distributed in good time to all delegates and was mentioned in item 3.1. A vote on this proposal would therefore be in order.
2. The New Zealand World Masters event had inadvertently been included as item 9.4 under "World Championships". This was incorrect because this competition does not fulfil the FAI requirements for World Championships. The item was therefore renamed "9a".
3. Observers had no right to speak unless called upon to do so by the IGC President on behalf of the delegate of their NAC. In view of the full agenda, the President would not be able to allow extensive contributions from observers.
4. Due to the fact that the World Air Games Coordinator Srecko Medven would only be present for the first day of the meeting, the items "World Air Games" and "World Class" were brought forward.
5. Indonesia and Argentina had given their proxies to Australia and New Zealand respectively.
6. The presentation of bids for the 2001 World Gliding Championships would be presented at the end of the first day with a vote to be taken on the following day.
The Minutes of the meeting held at Marly - le - Roi , France, on 14th. - 16th. March 1996 were unanimously approved.
It was announced that the Bureau had decided to recommend discontinuing the autumn European meetings, giving the reason that the separation of European and world - wide business is no longer feasible. The cost of travel to two meetings each year had become prohibitive for some delegates. The question now is: should future meetings be held in spring or autumn and related to the EGU meeting, as at present, or not? The meeting planned for October 1997 was cancelled.
See item Rules.
Due to the resignation of Fred Weinholtz, who had served IGC for over 20 years, the last 10 as Secretary, an election was held to fill the vacancy. Two applications had been received in writing, from Mrs. Angela Sheard and Ms. Janet Hider Smith. A third candidate, Mr. Larry Sanderson, USA, was nominated by the US delegate. All three accepted nomination and a secret ballot was held with an absolute majority for Mrs. Angela Sheard. The President thanked Mr. Weinholtz for his invaluable service, seconded by Mr. Roger Woods, Australia. Mr. Tor Johannessen proposed that Mr. Weinholtz be named Secretary of Honour, to which the meeting immediately agreed. After expressing his thanks, Mr. Weinholtz handed over to Mrs. Sheard, who would like to place on record her deep personal appreciation of all his support and kindness over the years.
The FAI Secretary General gave a brief report on the FAI General Conference held in Bled, Slovenia, on 17th. and 18th. October 1996.
6.1. IGC Treasurer, Mr. Dick Bradley, South Africa, was invited to detail the uses for the budget (see copy attached as Annex A of these Minutes ) which IGC now administers for itself. He pointed out that the budget is still a novelty, so ideas for its use and administration are still being developed. One suggestion is that costs for Jury Members and Stewards should come, not from this budget but 100% from event organisers, with sanction fees adjusted to compensate. Prof. Morelli recalled the relevant rule in the Sporting Code, Annex A and suggested that this rule be changed to read "100%". The major events of 1997 are too soon to be affected by any such changes.
6.2. CLAIMS from OFFICERS for REIMBURSEMENT Those entitled should present a budget to FAI for approval prior to an event, with the Bureau deciding on the claim's legitimacy. Ian Strachan explained that the claims in his own name were legitimate expenses of GFAC and was commended for having used only half the budgeted sum. Prof. Morelli had attended meetings in Germany ( Integrated Class ), Austria ( World Class ), and Hungary ( Hang-gliding ).
Mr Bernald Smith spoke and his report is attached as Annex C (2 items). Using pollution as an excuse, non-aviation groups try to inhibit aviation activities and policy. Many of the USA's airspace problems are environment-related and Europe is urged to take note of the trend and be vigilant. For example, the Grand Canyon National Park has a flight-free area covering ground to 60,000 feet! Despite arguments from the other side that flight safety is at risk, the Environmental Committee of SSA had succeeded in getting a reduction but there is still a great expanse of unusable airspace . Both sides are suing the US government. IGC could send a representative but decided to leave matters in Mr Smith's very capable hands.
Chairmen to report.
a) SPORTING CODE ( SC ) Tor Johannessen reported as follows on the results of the working group. Voting took place in the plenary session.
8.1.1 The Working Group opened by considering the question (see Annex A to Agenda) of badge flights and simplifying life both for pilots wishing to attempt them and the Official Observers (OO) who must verify them. Mr Hans Nietlispach, Switzerland, said it was nonsense to require the same level of documentation for a Silver C claim as for a World Record and suggested a return to the 1981 SC rules, permitting flights even in the absence of an OO. Some sort of new "quick reference guide", extracted from the main body of the SC, was urgently required if pilots were to continue to value and attempt badge flights. Brian Spreckley, GB, added that the SC, while a significant document, was too complicated to have any relevance for the majority of gliding people. While continuing to edit the main SC, it would be a good idea to produce a new short version suitable for flights up to, say, 500 km, and omitting all the information on records. Max Bishop suggested that the highly technical and specialised material on guidelines to manufacturers should also be quite separate. The question remained - who should do the revision ?
VOTING : it was unanimously agreed to form a new sub-committee chaired by Ross Macintyre with 2 objectives:
(a) to produce a shorter, simpler and easier to read version of Section 3 of the Sporting Code, and
(b) to write a guide to the Sporting Code for OOs and pilots.
Mr Macintyre insisted the committee, with his choice of members, should remain small and communicate by E-mail.
VOTING: on the proposal to remove technical specifications from the SC: not one hand shown against!
8.1.2. PARAGRAPH 1.8.7 of SC, Section 3 (Annex B): RETURN to DEPARTURE
POINT
The problem seems to be that "official distance" is not actually
defined anywhere in the SC so what is the definition of official distance?
Herbert Pirker, Austria, suggested it should be the flown distance but
up to a maximum. VP Tapio Savolainen, Finland, said, delete the finish
point. Fred Weinholtz quoted -" ..a closed course is a flight from
a start point via 1, 2 or 3 other points to a Finish point which is also
the Departure point. "Ian Strachan , GB , wanted to adopt the General
Section wording but Mr Johannessen said that the provisions in Section
3 cover that but not the General Section. Slovenia objected to removal
of para: 1.8.7 due to specific local difficulties with a mountain.
VOTING: by a large majority, the meeting voted to delete the paragraph completely.
8.1.3. MODIFICATION of COMPETITION RULES ( Annex C )
As long ago as Paderborn, 1982, a joint decision had been taken by Mr Weinholtz,
Mr Johannessen and the late Max Faber that "Organisers should only
present divergences from the rules" as opposed to writing them out
anew for each event. Team Managers can no longer rewrite the rules now
that the full International Jury composed of all Team Managers has been
replaced by an IGC - nominated, 3-person Jury. The only omission remaining
is the GNSS rules. Mr Smilian Cibic objected that the prescribed area also
remains unclear. Mr Roland Stuck, France, supported the Danes with some
feeling, having just undertaken the heavy task of preparing the rules for
WGC 97, agreeing that it is far too much work to write out the rules each
time.
VOTING: with the proviso that GNSS rules and airspace infringements, which MUST be penalised, be incorporated, the proposal was unanimously accepted.
8.1.4. CO-PILOTS in MULTI-SEATER GLIDERS (Annex D)
GB supported the proposal. Others insisted that the daily rota should then
be adhered to, even if weather stopped flying on a particular person's
declared day. Terry Cubbley, Australia, proposed ballasting the second
seat up to the weight of a co-pilot who, for whatever reason, withdrew
from the competition, so that the glider remained at the same all-up weight
as at the start but Mr Savolainen said this amount of ballast would be
illegal, not to say dangerous. One reason why some teams change co-pilots
around is to give less-experienced pilots training in top-level competition
but NZ felt this makes a nonsense of top-level competition.
VOTING: - a majority in favour of allowing changes of co-pilot provided that a list of co-pilots has been submitted prior to an event and not changed thereafter. N.B. A reminder from Max Bishop of the FAI absolute requirement for all the co-pilots to hold a sporting licence and be of the same nationality as the pilot in command.
8.1.5. USE of APPROVED GNSS EQUIPMENT (Annex F)
For Sweden, Mr Danewid reminded that, in September 1996, IGC had determined
that "off-the -shelf " GNSS equipment could NOT be approved.
Sweden feels that this ruling causes problems for simple club equipment
set-ups. GNSS, he said, is there to catch out cheats but clubs were supposed
to be about having fun and recording trips, not policing cheats! Tor Johannessen
recalled an earlier vote heavily in favour of keeping everything in a sealed
box and Bernald Smith insisted that such units still needed to go through
the approval process. Brian Spreckley felt that early optimism about the
great value of GNSS-verification methods had been replaced by disappointment
over the first 2 years of practical experience due to the complexity of
regulations. Things must be simplified for the average club pilot.
Ian Strachan, Chairman GFAC (GNSS Flight Recorder Approval Committee), stressing that he and his committee work strictly and only as directed by IGC, pointed out that his 1996 brief was to keep GNSS security a priority. He was not in favour of approval by local NACs. With 78 NACs in FAI, there was potential for a huge variation in quality of decision-making. Past equipment standards all had varying parameters and VERY LOW security parameters. Some units which come before the committee could never be approved because they lacked one or more of the required functions. For example, the Garmin 40, which lacks geodetic data. Another question - separate sensor units: which way should GFAC go on these?
Brian Spreckley had noted pilots' opinions that they hate (sic) the present system, that it doesn't work. The BGA feels competent to deal with it without pestering GFAC and IGC. (N.B. - for information - GFAC approves, FAI Gen. Sec. deals with approval fees (3000 SFR))
Summing up, Mr Johannessen set out three possibilities:
a) NACs to accept approved units for badges
b) Keep the rules as they are. (Rather than change now only to change again
in a year).
c) all the various hand-helds to be approved by GFAC
VOTING: a majority for change.
Australia, wanted more discussion on the remaining options. The distinction between badge claims and World Records was fundamental - a badge claim being a matter of personal achievement, a World Record, a question of removal of that record from the previous holder. With badges, the level of difficulty depends on the conditions in a particular country. Some NACs being less experienced, too small or without the resources to do their own checking, many different standards could occur world-wide.
VOTING: as a result of the second vote, it was unanimously agreed that GFAC would approve hand- held units for badge claims up to Diamond distance but not including the 1000 and 2000 km diplomas. Each combination must be approved by GFAC.
*** An important question occurred late in the Working Group afternoon.. With ever more business to get through, especially in view of the future absence of an autumn meeting, it was felt that too much time was taken up by the read-through of long technical reports which a) had already been attached as annexes for prior reading and b) were often far too technical for most non- specialists. Since the subcommittees which produce such reports had been set up with the full confidence of IGC, Prof. Ryder suggested that it would be enough for the plenary meeting to acknowledge and approve a document's existence rather than spend time on the actual document itself.
Prof. Morelli's remarks on motor glider topics will be included in the following item and his status report on the Integrated Classes included as Annex Q to these Minutes.
8.2.1 18M CLASS - proposals of the German Aero Club (see also
Minutes of Oct. 96 European Meeting )
Mr Fred Gai, Germany, suggested an 18m Class as an integrated class , with
motor gliders. Future World Championships, beyond 1999, would be held as
a separate event and replace all other motor glider classes and competitions.
If approved, the first would be in 2001, obviously with a trial event beforehand.
This item engendered a surprising amount of strong feeling and even some
strong words, notably from Scandinavia.
S. Africa commented that there is no real system for deciding on the introduction
of new classes. It should be done systematically and not by emotion.
Roger Woods, Australia, countered that the 18m class is, in effect, already
here to stay as an integrated class but that its formal introduction should
not be to the detriment of established classes.
Finland definitely wanted to vote against the introduction of new FAI classes
on cost grounds. How could nations afford to support yet another class?
Boosting World Class was preferable to introducing 18m for World Championships.
Tor Johannessen then opened another idea - combine 15m and 18m and dispense
with Open Class.
Prof. Morelli pointed out that most Open Class gliders (90%+) are now delivered
with an engine as are 80% of all 18m gliders. Soon, all Open and 18m Class
gliders will be motor gliders! He implored IGC not to ignore reality in
standing up for pure versus motor in view of the huge growth in motor glider
ownership. He reports that a) motor glider ownership now exceeds pure and
b) the first 10 pilots in the international standings list fly a good mix
of pure and motor gliders, turn and turn about. There is no reason not
to allow pilots to fly WGCs. Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon showed concern about
the general moral basis for a new class at the expensive end. 6 years effort
had gone into creating the World Class to help poorer pilots.
Russia observed that most 18m enthusiasts were not competition pilots but
" wealthy tourers ".
Germany countered, that despite her big customer base, she only has the
same single vote as any other country and would just like consideration,
not to take away from anyone but to add.
Tor Johannessen proposed a compromise: designate future motor glider championships
" Motor Glider/Integrated ".
Next, Mr Ake Pettersson challenged Prof. Morelli's figures of 1000 competitive
gliders since current gliders are mostly designed for soaring and not racing.
Dr Cibic, Italy, said that integrated classes work well and Italian pilots
prefer not to fly separate Mg competitions even when they have engines.
GB suggested separating the competition structure from simple freedom to
fly what/as you like. Mr de Orleans- Borbon, however, feared a large body
forming outside the control system. Mr Hans Werner Grosse pointed out that
18m is bigger than 15m but cheaper and smaller than Open Class. It would
benefit manufacturers to have some certainty about 18m, as they have of
15m.
To conclude, Tor Johannessen thought that experimentation, for example,
wing loading or span loading, could be wider to determine class definition.
VOTING: on the basic proposal, in principle, that an Integrated Class be accepted but not yet in World Championships - an overwhelming majority FOR.
The LS4 has now entered the Club Class list, encouraging Mr Kiffmeyer's hopes for an eventual World Championship in the class, though this would require a change to the SC. Some gliders have changed their index category according to the German Aero Club list, the use of which was unanimously agreed.
LS 4 .........................108
Pegase...(from 100 to)104 (despite French protests)
LS 1..............................100
Cirrus (std. & '75)........98
Since EGU President, Mr Fransois van Haaf, an expert, was present, it wasn't long before he found himself unanimously voted in as new chairman of this committee, a post which he graciously accepted.
Gene Hammond, USA, said that airspace problems in the USA and Canada are becoming worse all the time and that a stronger, not a lesser, presence is required, especially in dealings with governments. Canada's major problems, said her delegate, are airspace and membership. Airport control zones continue to expand and control services are being privatised, with airspace changes landing on general aviation through informal channels.
The new chairman stressed the importance of constant contact to create good relationships and remain informed. Secondly, not to be afraid to bring in the lawyers to help fight from an informed legal position at an early stage. Funding is available to help but money can actually be saved by this approach.
So much comment was flying about that Roger Woods proposed adding a complete half- day session on airspace problems, coordinated by Mr van Haaf, to the next annual meeting. The latter replied, that with Europe's air traffic due to double over the next 15 years, even a whole day would not be too much. We must press for a basic right to a share of airspace for sport. Mr de Orleans-Borbon mentioned how difficult it is to argue against officials who always cite safety as a reason to restrict air sports activities ( and it is actually illegal to fly across Belgium! ) but Mr Manfred Reinhardt recommended calling on the support of other general aviation users and making a unified approach.
Capt. Mogens Hansen, Denmark, suggested that as 10-15 million people indulge in air sports, ICAO should be pressed for their position. Bernald Smith pinpointed a reason for lack of progress. He said that as FAI delegate to RTCA, he finds the meetings almost totally airline-oriented and even his involvement is only due to GNSS. Frankfurt-on-Main noise controls, for instance, are competing with gliding airspace.
VOTING: for retaining the committee with Fransois van Haaf as chairman - enthusiastically unanimous FOR.
A copy of this report is attached as Annex D to these Minutes, jointly with GFAC.
The present committee was highly recommended for re-election. Approval of hand-held units will come with approval for use with specific flight recorder units. The fee structure for approvals is being revised. Manufacturers are said to be addressing the "year 2000 roll-over" problem. At this point, Brian Spreckley reiterated the important point made in the remark placed after point 8.1.6, namely, that highly technical publications were being discussed, and some sort of interface was required between IGC and GFAC, rather than ask the whole commission to try to understand them. It was thus decided to elect additional people to the GNSS sub-committee. Mr Bruno Ramseyer, the new delegate for the Republic of Ireland, and Brian Spreckley were nominated and elected as new members of the GNSS sub-committee.
Mr Smith was commended for the gargantuan task which he and his colleagues had undertaken and all they had already achieved in a relatively short time. He in turn paid tribute to IGC/GFAC as the only FAI organisation doing such testing at this level. Their high standards set an example to the rest of general aviation.
Ian Strachan then took the floor to give the GFAC report in which he again stressed that his main concern had been to concentrate on security.
a) EW approvals were due in about a month (April 1997)
b) Accuracy tests. Dynamic tests had been done in a car , it being impossible
to do them in the air, the results as follows: from 1200 results: error
54.4m. error at turn-point: 248m. worst projected: 189m.
c) RF Interference Paper was about to be published.
d) Checking had concentrated on base line features for validation, not
cosmetic features. MANY faults had been found.
e) A File Structure had been identified and established for standardisation.
f) Physical security can be relaxed now that there is electronic security.
g) Commercial companies are working down towards the 1000 US$ mark.
As might be expected, this item provoked much discussion. With so many points to consider, it was also difficult to phrase the voting proposals so that delegates could be quite sure of what they were voting for, so voting was deferred until the points had been condensed into a simpler form, brilliantly achieved by Tapio Savolainen, Ross Macintyre and Tor Johannessen over lunch. Optimisation rather than minimisation should be the aim.
By majority vote, the following changes to the records were decided:
Proposals to delete some or all of the feminine categories and some of the speed triangles were rejected.
The changes will take effect on October 1st. 1997. From that date, the following gliding record categories will be in effect:
The task of setting minimum requirements for new records was given to the Records sub-committee and the final decision to the IGC Bureau in view of the limited time-scale before their introduction.
On the advice of the FAI Secretary General, it was also decided to delete all references to national records from the Sporting Code Section 3, because these are only the concern of the NACs.
N. B. The now-deleted records will be frozen on the Record Book and no further claims admitted after october 1, 1997. For multi-seater records, only the Pilot-in-Command will be named in the lists.
8.6.1 The Austrian proposal regarding " Free types of Glider Flight" ( Annex P to this Agenda ) was withdrawn.
The Chairman noted with satisfaction that there is now no shortage of offers to host championships, with three strong candidates present at this meeting for WSC 2001. His subcommittee had come up with 2 main ideas: a) activate a committee to develop ideas for the widening of competition for Club Class, Female Championships and the proposed new 18 metre Class. b) to record informal meetings of pilots, such as pilot fora on competition non-flying days, to avoid losing all their valuable comments. Hungary responded to point a). Pilots want international experience but the costs are prohibitive for many. What is needed is a new series of competitions to test the new philosophies in all sorts of ways but free of the top - level organisation and rules involved in conventional international competition up to now. This idea was warmly welcomed and will be followed up by an experimental competition run by Hungary in 1998.
A summary of this report is attached as Annex E to these Minutes and articles based on its content had already appeared in Soaring magazine as well as European Soaring News. In addition, the chairman said that he expected discussion and input from outside his subcommittee and it was suggested that their ideas be tied in with the Hungarian proposal above for 1998. Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon thought that perhaps not only pilot prizes but also an " Ideas Championship " would be a good idea.
9.1.1 French delegate, Mr Roland Stuck, began with the painful subject of the resignation from the post of Championships Director-designate of Mr Jacky Clairbaux and then introduced his successor, Mr Michel Fache. The new appointee is, as well as being French alternate delegate to IGC, one of his country's most experienced mountain-flying specialists and competition organisers.
9.1.2 At the time of writing, 95 entries had been received from 26 countries, 43 in Standard Class, 34 in 15 metre and 18 Open Class. All Bulletins had been published on time and the Rules sent out with Bulletin 3, the delay with these due to last minute additions, notably, of GNSS information etc.
9.1.3 The timing system will be as in Finland, with no back-up checking required as long as the Flight Recorder works. The Start - Line will be 6 km long as an anti -collision measure. There will be penalties for landing more than 30 minutes after sunset. There will be HEAVY penalties for using external help. To comply with the requirements of French law, doping tests for both alcohol and drugs will be performed in accordance with FAI/IOC guidelines. Team Managers should acquaint pilots with the list of prohibited substances and make sure that any prescribed medication is declared to the Organisers.
* Amendments in the Rules concern the penalty list and the " beer can " radius which will be reduced to 250m., obliging pilots to go in closer to turn - points.
The World Soaring Cup, won by France in New Zealand in 1995, would be
put back into competition with the same rules as at Omarama. ( see voting
note below.) The scoring system had been completely modified and would
be tested at Issoudun during early May. Airspace: Organisers had met French
Airspace Administration officials and received assurance that almost no
airspace restrictions would be imposed except perhaps on Sundays (due to
the start of the high traffic density holiday period ) when restrictions
would pertain to FL 195. Since a tail - wind start is often unavoidable
at St. Auban, 14 - 16 235 hp towplanes would be used for launching.
All towropes would be supplied by St. Auban. Mobile phones would be provided
free to all Team Managers. The Daily Bulletin to be edited by Janet Hider
Smith will be entitled " Mistral Whispers " and a parallel French
edition would be edited by FFVV's PR Officer. A dedicated Internet Web
site has been set up and teams may send news to their followers .Web master
is Mr Denis Flament, of the French national squad. There will be an international
village with a bungalow for most teams, only the smaller teams sharing.
Comment on the report: Dick Bradley urged sensitivity in the collection
of samples for mandatory drug testing to avoid embarrassing selected subjects.
How would the external help prohibition be policed? Mr Stuck replied that
all airfields in the contest area had been told not to pass information
to pilots who would risk disqualification. Of course, up to a point, you
also have to trust to the honour of the contestants but St. Auban was intending
to try to receive 30-60 minute updates to vital information and display
it at base so that all teams would have equal access.
9.1.4. Compulsory anti-collision marking: Mr Stuck awaited an IGC decision. Although Mr Holighaus advised marking only the back of the ailerons, tail and nose, Mr Stuck wants identical leading edge marking for all gliders even if the Organisers have to supply it themselves. This produced some controversy. Expensive research in Germany had found no appreciable increase in visibility with marks while Mr Roger Woods was convinced that only the last - minute glimpsing of the marks on another glider's moving aileron saved him from a potentially fatal collision on one occasion.
VOTING on compulsory anti - collision marking: UNANIMOUSLY in FAVOUR.
9.1 5. After some discussion, a vote was taken on the " beer can " proposals in the Local Rules.
VOTING: on whether to use the " beer can " - a majority was FOR. on the reduction to 250m a large number AGAINST on safety grounds. The radius will thus be reinstated at 500 metres.
9.1.6 Next, the World Soaring Cup was discussed. This had not actually been authorised by IGC prior to its appearance in New Zealand in 1995 because championships were considered to be for individual competition and not the team versus team, nation versus nation concept. A vote was therefore taken on its future.
VOTING: whether the World Soaring Cup should take place at St. Auban
this year. Majority FOR.
whether it should become a permanent feature of WGCs - FOR.
Rules would have to be approved in time for this year's event.
Before proceeding to the thorny subject of monofrequency for this year's championships, Mr Stuck addressed the following anxieties expressed by delegates- ( questions and answers in précis form )
a) on safety concerns about the large numbers of non-competing gliders
in the area at that time of year adding to collision risk.. Answer: this
is a false impression. The event has been timed to take place PRIOR to
the heavy holiday period which commences from the 15th. July. Local clubs
have also been recommended to keep numbers down around the event period.
b) on task setting: can you set safe tasks? The task - setting at Lavender
Glide had been too optimistic. The Dutch Aero Club committee likes Team
Managers to have some influence on task - setting. Answer: safety is the
absolute priority of the Championships Director, Mr Michel Fache. He had
asked all Team Managers to submit information on the experience level (mountain
flying) of every competing pilot, permitting him to calculate the average
skill level of the competitors. He would take this into account when designing
tasks, so as to maintain maximum safety parameters and get as many as possible
home each day. His avowed wish is for every competitor to have a fair chance
instead of pushing them all to the limits of safety and fun for the benefit
of the mountain specialists. At Lavender Glide, the Director had been too
busy doing a multitude of jobs to monitor task - setting.
c) on the removal of the Bardonecchia field in Italy from the list... Answer:
task - setters will reconsider this field. on the loss of a field at Briancon...
Answer: this field is owned by a syndicate of 200 or so owners, which defied
all attempts by St. Auban to rent or buy it. It should be considered as
a crash field only. d) on barograph calibration: the Organisation does
not intend to undertake calibration of barographs. All entrants should
show a valid calibration trace at registration without which they will
have to pay for a special calibration flight.
e) on doping controls: a reminder by Max Bishop. This is the first WGC
at which doping controls will have been imposed. IGC must have the machinery
to comply with this French government requirement and must appoint a doctor
to represent it. Dr Peter Saundby of Great Britain was suggested and would
be approached. Doping controls are set out by FAI in line with International
Olympic Committee recommended procedure.
9.1.7. The MONOFREQUENCY Issue
The idea of having all pilots use one frequency in championships was intended
to discourage team flying. However, no-one had put forward any such agenda
item for this meeting and Mr Stuck felt that it is extremely unfair to
impose an untried idea on his organisation at this late stage of preparations.
Prof. Ryder stated that while the Bureau is very much in favour of monofrequency,
he agreed that it is now too late to insist on St. Auban experimenting
at this major event. Discussion continued, however, with a view to collecting
opinions for future reference. ( The Dutch declared themselves against.)
The Organisers repeat their intention to put out met. and airfield status
information at frequent intervals so that TMs can communicate it to their
pilots and it is hoped to establish a mountain top repeater station to
overcome reception difficulties.
German delegate Fred Gai reported, beginning with the news of officials. Prof. Peter Ryder will be the Championships Director with Mr Andreas Baier as Administration Director, Mr Walter Eisele as Task Setter/Sporting Director and Mr Holger Back on his organising team. On 6th. July, the German Team would host a German evening at St. Auban to give more information to those present. 20 foreign pilots, in Standard and 15 Metre Classes, would be welcome to take part in the new International Bavarian Gliding Championship, planned for 1st. - 17th. August 1997. This would be a 2nd. category international event registered with FAI/IGC. (see copy of Invitation attached to these Minutes.) Visitors would see that preparations are well in hand . Prof. Ryder announced that, due to the workload and to avoid any conflict of interest , he would resign as President of IGC after one more year ( if re-elected, of course ).
Three excellent candidates presented bids and there was an agonising wait while four secret ballots decided the outcome. Australia offered Gawler, Poland offered Leszno and South Africa presented Mmabatho.
VOTING:
1st. vote - Australia 10 S. Africa & Poland 9 each.
2nd. vote - S. Africa and Poland 14 each.
3rd. vote - S. Africa 15 Poland 13
4th. vote - S. Africa 16 Australia 12
With commiserations to the other two almost equally popular bids ( strongly urged to bid again ), it was declared that the first WGC of the 21st. century will take place in Mmabatho, South Africa. The absence of a time-change for travellers from Europe, thus no jet - lag problems, as well as the exciting prospect of a totally new flying area to explore seemed to have contributed to the final, very difficult choice.
Both USA and Finland declared their intention to bid for 2003 at a future meeting.
New Zealand delegate Ross Macintyre's report is attached as Annex G to these Minutes. This event has been designated Category 1, so the rules must be approved by FAI/IGC.
The Agenda stated that these reports were for information only, since regular European meetings are now held. However, as noted above, this was the meeting which decided to discontinue them. This had an effect which will become clear in point 10.9 below.
See Final Report attached as Annex H to these Minutes. In addition, Mr Savolainen was pleased to announce that an excellent profit had been made and that another big bonus was the marked rise in the sport's profile in Finland with lots of new members and course applications resulting from the positive view spread by the success of the event. Foreign pilots are welcome to attend Finnish National Championships or camps. All present added their congratulations on a very well - run Championships.
To everyone's great disappointment, atrocious weather prevented this Championship from having enough flying days to declare. Following the opening ceremony, rain fell for a full week before flying was possible. Those present in Slovenia will testify to the great generosity and unfailing good humour with which the disappointed organisers looked after the visitors.
Mr Axel Reich presented the status report. Sponsors are still being sought. German Radio is generously supporting the Opening Ceremony which will become a street festival for the whole local community with the fun continuing all the Saturday afternoon and all day on the Sunday. Preliminary entries have been received from 20 nations including New Zealand and the USA. A maximum 4 per nation can be accepted, 2 pilots in Standard Class and 2 in Club Class.
At this stage, it is unlikely that reserve pilots can be accepted as the planned maximum of 60 has already been passed though the Organisers are now hoping to fit in 65 - 70. There will be doping controls, as a German government requirement. The whole local community has become enthusiastically involved with the event, which is a big help to the otherwise fairly small Organisation. Reduced rate fares are under discussion. Local Rules will be published as soon as possible after being sanctioned at this meeting. Due to Jacky Clairbaux's resignation, a new Jury President has been appointed. The closing date for entries is 30th. April. Where sandbags are used for ballast, sand may only be carried in the fuselage and the weight must remain the same throughout the competition. At this point, the first full day's business was concluded.
Mr Tadeas Wala presented the status report. 44 entries had so far been received, among them several champions, so a very high standard is expected. The Organisation will be able to rent Flight Recorders to meet any shortfall among pilots. Agreement has been reached permitting the use of some turn points in the Czech Republic. An Internet connection is in place.
Dr. Waldemar Ratajczak presented the status report. The officials will be as follows -
Championships Director: Mr Jan Kurczewski
Sporting Director Mr Jacek Dankowski
Scoring Mr Marek Uzarowski
Meteorology Mr Benarczyk
All rooms in the Leszno airfield complex have recently been completely renovated and the campsite and cafe modernised. CSS Leszno will be on-line to the Internet in the next two months ( May 1997). New airspace agreements with Germany and the Czech Republic will allow flying over a large area with good cooperation expected with all authorities. This year's Polish International Championships ( Polish Nationals with foreign guest pilots) will act as a pre - European Championships contest. So far, 13 entries have been received - 6 Standard Class, 6 in 15 metre Class and 1 Open Class. The deadline for entries is 15th. June 1997.
The Czech Republic delegate was regrettably absent but had advised that there was, as yet, nothing new to say. In view of earlier discussions on the Club Class Championships structure, Mr Roger Woods suggested that this event be designated INTERNATIONAL.
VOTING: Majority FOR this designation.
A letter would be sent to the Czech Republic Aero Club to advise them. The event title would be Open European Club Class Championships. There would be one results list from which the top -placed European would be the new Champion while the leading finisher, if not a European, would be the competition winner. Mr Helmut Kiffmeyer, who has for so long dreamed of advancing the Club Class towards its own world championships, looked an especially happy man.
Still no bids and in view of discussions on an Integrated Class, separate events will not now proceed.
Norway's bid would be realigned for 2002 as more work is necessary to improve the airfield surface. Other bids and a decision were postponed to the March 1998 meeting.
10.9.1 Bids for the 5th. EUROPEAN JUNIOR GLIDING CHAMPIONSHIPS 1999
This item showed up the first problem to arise from the demise of the autumn European meetings. Slovakia had intended to bid for this event but had nothing prepared for this meeting. The Netherlands did have their bid ready ( see Annex I to these Minutes ) and as it was a good one, it was felt that they deserved to receive an answer immediately rather than wait another year and then be sorely short of preparation time.
VOTING: for TERLET, the NETHERLANDS - an overwhelming majority FOR.
The entry fee will be the same as for Musbach 1997 and costs would be further held down by a mixed aerotow and winch launching operation. To emphasise the Dutch flavour of the bid, bouquets of yellow tulips were presented to Ms Hider Smith, Mrs Sheard and some others by Mr Nils Visser.
10.9.2 Bids for the 11th. INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS 1999
The first proposal was for this event to run concurrently with the next World Air Games. Then it was wondered whether the World Class World Championships would always in future occur 4 - yearly with the World Air Games or 2 - yearly in the same year as either a European or World Championships. In fact, it is not yet certain how often the WAG will take place; the next after 1997 might be in either 2000 or 2002.
The Polish delegate offered Leszno, now that S. Africa had won the 2001 WGC, and proposed combining the 1999 Women's European Championships in one event with the next World Class World Championships. This was a popular idea and Leszno has no problem accommodating large numbers.
VOTING: Leszno to host a combined event in 1999. Unanimous agreement FOR.
Mr. Fred Weinholtz introduced Mr. Srecko Medven, Slovenia, who is FAI Air Sports Coordinator for WAG. From Turkey - Mr. Yavus Firat from Ankara, representing the Turkish Aero Club, Mr. Taner Erdem, Manager at Inönü, and Mr. Yucel Akyoz, in charge of Administration for the 1st. World Class World Championships.
In his report, attached as Annex B to these Minutes, Mr. Akyoz drew delegates attention to Bulletin 2 and said that all preparations are on schedule and proceeding satisfactorily.
International Jury and Stewards Mr. Weinholtz listed changes to the International Jury. Prof. Morelli replaces Mr. Tor Johannessen as Jury President; Mr. Oran Nicks will be vice-president and the third member will be Turkish glider pilot, Mr. Tarik Gokdemir. The meeting unanimously accepted the choices. The Stewards will be Mr. John Roake, New Zealand, (in Turkey already to supervise the handling of of PW5s on loan from New Zealand (see below), Mr. Rainer Wienzek, Germany and Mrs. Angela Sheard whose special responsibility will be all publications in English
Entries 27 pilots from 15 countries were already entered, with three further countries interested in naming reserve pilots. It is hoped that further entries will arrive before the April 1st. deadline, especially from countries where PW5s are or will be flying, such as France, Great Britain, Hungary and Spain and others.
Hire of Gliders The generous action of the Gliding Association of New Zealand in providing 10 more PW5 gliders for hire was stressed. These machines, purchased by New Zealand owners, will be shipped to Turkey under the supervision of John Roake and will be for hire at 3000 US$ for one month. Fully comprehensive insurance will be paid for by the owners with pilots responsible for third party only. The arrangements will be coordinated by the contest organisers. Thanks to the questionnaire action by FAI HQ, through Mr. Max Bishop, hiring is running smoothly. THK. (the Turkish Aero Club ) offers 10 or 11 trailers adapted to carry PW5s.
Travel The Turkish national airline, THY, is giving an exceptional 50% discount on all APEX air fares and it is hoped that negotiations with ferry companies will result in similar offers from them. The organisers cannot say if this would be for individual or group travel.
Accommodation and Food Inönü’s accommodation facilities , though extensive, are not unlimited, so rooms will be allocated on a first - come, first - served basis. It is guaranteed that all pilots with two assistants, as well as all national team captains can be accommodated at the airfield. Others will have to settle for 4/5 bed - rooms or camping or hotels.
Launching and Contest Area Following successful trials in 1996, two launching systems, winch AND aerotow, will be offered. It was shown that winch - launched gliders achieved 1000m faster than aerotowed gliders. The contest area has been improved. As a result of observations in 1996 that the normal cloud base is FL 135, the maximum permitted altitude will be 13, 500 feet MSL (approx. 4000m MSL). The area will also be extended to the west and north to take advantage of the excellent thermal areas to be found there. There are still problems with the CTR of the military airfield, 40 km away at Eskeschir, but the Organisers have high hopes that this will be considerably reduced, at least during the main thermal periods. Although the contest period, September, is rather late in the year, experience has shown that about 6 hours of thermals are available on normal days with amazingly strong activity (3 - 5m thermals) not unusual over about 4 hours. So, tasks, distance and speed, which can be completed in 4 hours, will be set to avoid outlandings as far as possible. 1996 proved, however, that outlandings are no problem. Young Turkish volunteers with some English knowledge will accompany retrieve crews and aerotows will be possible from airfields.
Mobile Phones The contest region is not yet covered for mobile phone use but negotiations continue and the Organisers still hope that the problem may yet be resolved in time.
Special Prize PZL Swidnik, the manufacturer, is to donate a complete PW5 glider as a prize to the winner.
**** ****
The last point concluded the good news section of the report. Mr. Weinholtz was very satisfied with preparations for the contest at Inönü even though some work remains to be done. The Turkish hosts had shown again and again their great hospitality and their determination to provide visitors with enjoyable flying and everything else that they might need. His next remarks reflected extreme disappointment with a decision of PZL Swidnik, mitigated only by the hope that something may yet be done. The meeting was reminded that in March 1996, the World Class subcommittee had agreed with Swidnik an increase of 2300 SFR in the selling price of PW5 gliders but that this sum would be refunded for any glider competing at Inönü. Mr. Weinholtz had understood this to be a firm contract but the Board of Directors at PZL Swidnik now refuse to honour this commitment. Further, the company is unwilling to send a service team nor even one individual service person in support of the glider in Turkey, quoting reasons of cost. Mr. Weinholtz felt such action detrimental to the World Class, to international gliding and to the company itself. He spoke frankly and publicly in the hope of making them reconsider. This last remark drew heated comment from the floor. First, Ross Macintyre supported the report by saying how alarmed he had been at the increase in costs of the glider and challenged Swidnik to respond. VP Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon went further, pressing Swidnik to honour agreements made with FAI at an early stage of negotiations and even suggesting that legal action might be appropriate if no satisfaction was forthcoming. The Chairman stressed his opinion that the special arrangements agreed for the return of 2300 SFR to purchasers flying at Inönü SHOULD be respected and asked that these Minutes record the fact that:
"IGC deplores the refusal of the manufacturers to honour their agreement to reimburse purchasers the sum of 2300 SFR when buying their PW5 glider expressly for use at the WAG."
Mr. Marek Mikosz, for PZL Swidnik, replied that the decision not to reimburse was taken on economic grounds because no orders had been received by the factory, other than those of New Zealand, which planned to hire the gliders on. PZL considered this unfair although Mr. Medven explained that this idea of J. Roake's was agreed to in order to ensure enough gliders (40) for the Championships and anyway, at least one New Zealand owner plans to fly. No other orders had been received from potential competitors, Mr. Mikosz claimed. Prof. Morelli reminded the meeting that the period in which orders would qualify for the discount ran from March 1996 to March 1997 inclusive. Mr. de Orleans Borbon retorted that Spain had placed an order with the clearly - expressed intention to compete at WAG and expected the discount. Two Italian pilots had also bought PW5s even before being accepted into the Italian Team, added Dr. Smilian Cibic , Italy. Mr. Nils Visser, Netherlands, then went on to ask about publicity arrangements, WAG being an unequalled opportunity to advance our sport. Mr. Medven replied that the Eurosport organisation was already involved and enquiries about coverage were also in hand from the Middle East, Asia, North and South America too. Media coverage would be wide - ranging , whether live, highlights or post - production. Major sponsors and smaller national sponsors will be announced in April (rather late but Turkey had been awarded the event only in June 1995).
Prof. Morelli gave his report on the World Class glider. Here follows a summary.
a) 2 units were now being completed each week.
b) 105 units had been delivered by the end of 1996.
c) 75 units were expected in 1997. Countries with or expecting PW5s in
1997 include:
in Europe: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey
and Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, USA
14 licences to produce the glider have been sold by the Technical University of Warsaw, Poland but no production has yet begun in addition to Swidnik.
See report above. A few remaining questions are being finalised:
Templates A complete, very valuable set of templates has been made by PW / Swidnik. They will be received by FAI at Inönü and used there for the geometrical checks (slides of the templates were shown).
Ballast To bring all gliders to the same all-up weight and the same C of G location ( slides shown). This ballast system is now fully approved by the Polish authorities and is available for sale from PZL Swidnik at a price not exceeding 500 US$ for the complete system, about 60 US$ per block. It is important to place orders quickly.
Canopy - jettisoning system A slight modification of the original system has been realised by PW/PZL Swidnik and approved by the countries, (Germany & Sweden ) which objected to the original. A retro - fit is available on request if desired.
Altitude limitation Through flight tests, the altitude limit has been raised from 5000 - 9000m. PW and PZL have been requested to further it, as far as possible.
Mr Nils Visser, who brought up the subject in Paris last October, opened the discussion with some figures and reasons , which most recognised as similar in their own countries. A BET Research Institute survey found that only 4% of 14-29 year olds had any interest in flying as a sport. Interest was diminishing, down from 10 - 6%. An Oerlinghausen report showed the attrition rate among starters as very high - for every 100 who look into gliding , only 10% take training, 3 or 4 advance to solo status and only ONE stays in the sport long - term! Cooperation with schools was vital.
Dick Bradley outlined a 4-phase scheme in South, Africa funded by the Daimler Benz Corporation, to bring gliding to disadvantaged schoolchildren. The phases are
a) Identify interested candidates.
b) Give air experience flights to the winners among these.
c) From these a "star" group will be chosen.
d) the stars of the star group will then be invited to fly under instruction
at the Barron Hilton Ranch.
It is hoped that this generous scheme will bring in a whole new group to South African gliding.
In Germany, the pilot population has decreased from 43,000 to 39,000. Some clubs will see a reduction in membership while others cannot cope with the numbers taking an interest. Flown hours are reducing. The new entry is affected by competition from a multitude of other things but one major factor is rising costs which are now exceeding increases in personal income. There are high hopes that World Class may help to reverse the trend. However, it is important to hold on to the 1%, the person who stays with gliding. The goodwill engendered by that sole person's memories and experiences will be passed on to children and grandchildren. Germany offers many "sniffer" courses each year for people to come in and try without immediate commitment.
Pilots who love their sport should join in politically with their community to spread the word. It is important to keep people happy and satisfied with their progress. If they are excited about gliding they will go out and broadcast among their friends. It is also extremely important to find ways for the less well - off to pay part of their flying costs by work in their clubs. In most German clubs, full summer days as well as winter hours are put in.
Prof. Ryder added that it is illogical to charge by the hour. His club had a basic fee but no charges for air time. There are always demands on time from other activities and responsibilities. This is an especial problem for women who still seem to take on most of the direct family and home - care. The sport must give people what they want. The atmosphere must be welcoming and not distant and mysterious when someone first timorously ventures onto an airfield for a look. Club Class and similar activities are worth pushing. The growing average age of glider enthusiasts is a real problem but various schemes are addressing it.
In Austria, where 4000 glider pilots fly in around 900 gliders the average age is 46. Now, a famous sports school has added gliding to tennis and skiing in its curriculum. 14 -16 year olds can receive funding to attend this school and then must glide - a weekly half - day is built into the timetable.
Among the Nordics, there is a slight decline, with about 18 - 21% leaving as 20% arrive, but older people are flying more hours and the sport is healthy. The problem had been , not recognising the problem! Clubs made no effort to go out and attract new members. Now, it is ever more important to promote all the time. Young people have so many options for spare - time activities and even some other air sports are cheaper and perceived as easier to do. In Helsinki, gliders have been positioned in the capital and small - adds ( classified advertisements) and articles in the local free press exploited to draw in the mass which may produce a few long - term adherents. Schools now integrate gliding programmes into summer holiday activities with gliding as a subject choice.
Gene Hammond, USA, said many US operations are run commercially rather than as clubs and can be unwelcoming. A revealing study of attitudes among the young in Illinois found that "If at first they don't succeed, they quit "! They no longer have "stick -to-it-ness", yet the Civil Air Patrol programmes of air experience could draw in 20, 000 youngsters a year.
The New Zealand Gliding Association had done a survey on why people leave the sport, a project made possible by the small size of the country and population. The usual reasons of limited time and money and the demands of young children showed up but club politics and organisation proved to be a turn-off too. As a result of being surveyed and their opinions sought, some people actually returned to gliding.
Australia encourages early solos, giving them achievable goals with sports coaches, not instructors, supporting them and helping them towards the confidence to go cross - country. There is also a whole new generation of converts from hang - gliding, pilots who transfer when their legs give out! Close contacts with the hang - gliding community have been developed among other efforts to capture enthusiasts from other air sports.
Poland has completely different problems to contend with. Gliding was once entirely state - funded and only the chosen few had the chance to fly at all. The delegate himself was one of only 2 among 45 hopefuls to be chosen from his school. Now young people have to find about 800 US$ for a full completion course to licence standard. There are 900 gliders, mostly older types, flying about 40, 000 hours per annum but cross - country hours are reducing due to retrieve costs. There are 500 - 600 ab initios per annum with 400 completing licences, training in local clubs or the major national schools at Leszno, Lisie Katy (Grudziac) and the Zar Mountain School, near Bielsko Biala, but there is a lot of competition from hang - gliding in which success comes rather quicker.
Brazil's delegate, the first for some time, described his country. It is so large, that gliding can never become a maximum - coverage sport. There are 350 gliders in 61 clubs and 3,400 licensed pilots. Not only are distances great but gliding is both expensive and "media-invisible". Medical requirements are the same as for power pilots and competition from other sports is fierce. The gliding authorities are trying hard to draw in government and commerce, to have medical requirements relaxed and to raise the sport's profile in the media and schools.
Great Britain is both the exception and the one real success story. There is no decline and competitions are regularly over-subscribed. The UK has a stable number of people in gliding, more gliders and an increase in activity. The delegate stressed the importance of recognising societal change, children preferring computer games to aeromodelling. There must be a commercially - balanced view and a professional training system. The BGA considers a publicity officer vital and gives clubs a marketing pack for guidance. The annual conference has been enhanced to encourage attendance and participation in what is both an attractive social event and business forum. Club cadet schemes are promoted with BGA help. Intermediate levels of achievement are necessary and the BGA 100 km diploma was introduced with this in mind. Gliding seems to be appealing to the young retired and somehow clubs must find a way to mix all age groups, remembering that young people must be allowed to act young while at the same time respecting the needs of older members. K8s have been bought to give free flying to young people in exchange for help maintaining them. There is a Weekend League and an Inter-Club League where club teams of four compete at different sites throughout the season. Each team comprises a novice, an intermediate and a pundit and the novice's score has equal value.
Following this wide - ranging discussion, Mr Visser was asked to continue the enquiry, with his board, compiling all the ideas and reporting back to the 1998 meeting.
As he was engaged in the OSTIV meeting taking place next door, Mr Manfred Rheinhardt looked in only briefly and directed attention to his report which appears as Annex M to these Minutes.
President, Mr Fransois van Haaf's report appears as Annex N to these Minutes. He showed some overhead slides for the benefit of those delegates who would not be attending the EGU meeting next day. These covered activities in 1996/7 and bombarded us with acronyms, which seem unavoidable in "Eurospeak". Mr Bill Scull is happy to enlighten anyone who needs to interpret these, for example, ( E ) OCD = Operational Concept Document , which will always be a critical document to know about; the optional E stands for European. A joint EGU/EAS ( European Air Sports) document is in production on areas of joint interest and activity. The more familiar acronym VFR is about to be wiped out! The JAA has agreed not to order the harmonisation of licences but on mutual recognition.
Poland withdrew her proposal for a pilot whose area of activity is covered by another commission. No other proposal was received in time.
The US proposal for Mrs Bertha Ryan was unanimously accepted.
The complete rules are set out in a new leaflet attached as Annex K to these Minutes.
Prof. Ryder confirmed his intention to stand down in 1998 to direct the 1999 WGC .
VOTING: Peter Ryder unanimously re-elected for 1997/8
VOTING: Tor Johannessen unanimously re-elected
Final result: Dick Bradley, Bruno Gantenbrink, Ake Pettersson, Tapio Savolainen, Roger Woods
As the next meeting will be his last in office, the President invited
the commission to come to his home town of Bremen but on a secret ballot,
a majority expressed a preference for Paris.
DATE: 14 -16 March (Thursday to Saturday) inclusive, 1998.
PLACE: Hotel Frantour, Gare de Lyons, Paris, France.
20.1 Mr Woods drew attention to the World Solar Challenge, a race across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide for solar - powered cars. It has now been decided to include a north/south glider race as an additional attraction in October 1998. See notes attached as Annex O to these Minutes.
20.2 On the abolition of the European Meetings VOTING: Majority FOR abolition.
20.3 On GNSS, Mr Bernald Smith asked for support to tell producers that a Pilot event Marker is definitely needed. Secondly, he asked the Bureau for a decision on the fee structure for approvals. It would be 1000 SFR with 250 SFR returned if no problems were encountered. This would cover the Flight Recorder and up to 3 hand-helds. If someone wants to do a major modification and return their unit for approval , it is suggested to charge them 500 SFR with 125 to be returned if no problems. VOTING: All agreed on both topics.
20.4 Given the increasing amount of business, the deadline for papers and agenda items to reach the Secretary is 31st. December 1997. This concluded the business of the meeting which had, amazingly, been completed on time, to the President's evident relief. It only remained to thank Mr Patrick Stouffs very warmly for his hard work arranging the event at the Club Prince Albert and send delegates away to their homes with much food for thought and good wishes for the coming season.
(Not included in the HTML version)
A Treasurer's report
B 1st WAG Status Report
C Environment ( 2 items)
D GNSS & GFAC
E Competition Philosophies
F WGC 97 St. Auban Status Report
G 1st. World Masters Championship, Omarama, 1998- Status Report
H EGC 96 Finland Final Report
I Successful Bid for 1999 Junior European Championships
J EGU Update
K Barron Hilton Cup
M OSTIV Report
N Solar Challenge, Australia 1998
O Invitation to Bavarian Open
P Integrated Classes - report
Q List of personal addresses
Annex L intentionally omitted.
Copyright 1996 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 93 Bd du Montparnasse, 75006, Paris, France. All Rights Reserved.